


Hunger

by mothwebs



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Blood and Injury, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Hypnotism, M/M, Manipulation, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Starvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23905744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothwebs/pseuds/mothwebs
Summary: A siren's attempt to protect his friend and their home goes disastrously wrong.
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

“Oh no, of course he wouldn’t have told you.”

“Told me about what? What are you saying, why are you guys here?”

The two sirens gave each other an amused look at the tone of panic in the boy’s voice, before the one with lillies in his hair began to explain.

“We’re bored, human, there’s only so many times ships will pass through our place before they learn not to sail past a swell of sirens if they value their lives. Don’t know why they would, though, they’re all pretty pathetic… But anyways! We all want to move out and find other places to feed, and this area is looking _very_ promising. Ships passing by almost _daily_ , we’d never go hungry, it’s almost too good to be true!”

“Wh - But this - You guys don’t own this area…” Aster replied. “And I’ve never seen another siren before, Lumin’s never talked about any others! Well, except for Zen-”

“Hold on a moment,” interrupted the other, shell-necklace clinking as he swerved Aster by the shoulders to face him. “Are you saying _he_ stooped so low as to be friends with _Lumin?_ You’re hearing what he’s saying, right, Floran, he’s gotta be lying- _”_

“It’s not that surprising, actually.” The first - Floran - sighed. “Did you not notice when it was that Zen started wearing those shirts, Ray? How it was right when Lumin started showing up?”

“...Alright, now that makes more sense, yes.”

“Enough stalling!” Aster snapped, pushing Ray’s arms off his shoulders. “Where’s Lumin, why hasn’t he come back for the past week?!”

Ray rolled his eyes. “Pushy, aren’t you?”

“Well, no wonder he never mentioned the rest of us, boy - he doesn’t want us here. You could imagine how surprised we were when we came here to settle down and found Lumin already living here. And the ships still come, and they know he’s here - it’s so confusing! He was happy to talk for a while, but once we started trying to move in then - well - he turned hostile.”

“He doesn’t know how to take a joke.” Ray hummed, swimming upwards to glance over the shell collection on the shelves. “I made _one_ little comment that we just might take this place for ourselves, because we really should~ And then he immediately kicked us out, it was rather rude.”

Aster glared pointedly at him. “I can see why he’d be hostile to you two, at least.” 

“We, of course, aren’t leaving until we have this area. One siren can’t keep us off forever, especially not him. He’s not a real siren anyways, he doesn’t have any power in this game~”

“Wh- That’s so cruel! What makes you think you can just talk about him like that, it’s not up to _you_ who’s a real siren or not!”

“Oh goodness, if you think _that’s_ cruel, you’ll love what happened next!” Floran chuckled, as he lazily swam in a circle around Aster. “Lumin did talk an _awful_ lot about you, especially to Zen. I’m surprised he’s managed to hold out for so long - we made bets that you wouldn’t last a week, then a month. But you’re still here! Wonder why...”

The boy let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. “Because - It’s because he’s my friend. He wouldn’t eat me, he _promised_ he wouldn’t, we care about each other too much.”

“You think that promise will mean anything in the face of hunger? Promises are made to be broken, after all~” Floran stops and holds out a piece of a shell for Aster to see. Though, upon closer inspection, he recognises the dark glimmer of black opal in the siren’s palm. “We made a bet, and a deal of sorts. He holds out with no food for 4 months. Small fish only, and no humans. In exchange, we leave you two alone, we don’t take this place as our own. If he takes one single bite of human flesh, or if he even goes _near_ a ship, he’s lost.”

“It’s fruitless, of course, no siren can resist the hunger when it comes for you. That’s why we always stay fed - that, and it’s fun~ But the stupid worm even swore upon his favourite mineral that he’d last even longer!” Ray laughed, taking one of the shells and stringing it up on his necklace. “I’m surprised he’s made it this far, but he’ll snap soon enough.”

“Is…” The ocean water suddenly felt foreign as Aster struggled to breathe, only just taking in the weight of their words. “Is… so that’s why he…” 

_“No, ‘m not hungry.”_

_“Wait, are you sure? Did you eat at all this week?”_

_“I said ‘m not hungry. I’m fine, I ate a few days ago, I just - did it elsewhere, y’know.”_

_“Right, right, ok… But I’m still worried, Lumin, you can’t let yourself go hungry… You might make yourself sick, or start hallucinating. And we don’t want you eating me, haha! I still want to hang out with those seals more, and spend more time with you.”_

_“Heh, yeah… But I’m not going to. I promised you that on the ship and I’m promising it now.”_

“So that’s why he left…” He murmured, piecing it together. “He didn’t want to hurt me.”

There’s a pause that would’ve been quiet if Ray didn’t snicker at how dejected Aster sounded. Then, the boy curls his hands into fists and looks up defiantly at them. “Show me where he is, if you know.”

Floran blinked. “...Honey, he hasn’t eaten anything for over three months, he’ll chew you up as soon as he sees you-”

“I. Don’t. _Care._ I want to be there for him, I want to help. Where is he?”

“...I like your guts, kid.” Ray chimes in. “And you know what, he will too, they’ll taste _heavenly_ after this long. He’s near the crystal caves.” He swims over to the entrance, casting a shark-like grin over to Aster. “If we’re lucky, we’ll reach him right when it’s sundown. What with all the pretty lights in the caves your death will be more peaceful that way~” 

Aster shoves down a growl as he moves to follow Ray out of the grotto. Floran’s hand takes ahold of his and starts to lead him with noticeably more speed. 

“You do realise that if you go to him, he’ll lose the bet and his home. And you, his precious little boyfriend. He’ll probably lose his appetite after you, and maybe die alone from grief, too. At least you won’t be around to see that sorry sight.”

“You don’t know that.” Aster snaps, pushing his worries to the back of his mind. He’ll get there, he’ll talk to Lumin, they’ll fix all of this. They’ll figure something out. “You don’t know Lumin like I do.” 


	2. Chapter 2

The journey from Lumin’s grotto and off towards the crystal caves was tense. Floran moved too quickly, and with Ray’s on-and-off humming that kept distracting him, Aster feared he’d run out of time to think of a plan. There were shadows passing overhead, blocking out the setting sun, which only dampened his mood. Rain was almost never good weather for him to be out of the grotto. 

Part of his mind was hysterical, screaming that he won’t be able to do  _ anything _ , and that the only way he’ll placate Lumin’s hunger will be if he’s the main course. Not to mention it would be so  _ easy _ for Lumin to take him down, he was  _ way  _ too vulnerable to his friend’s charms. And what would happen if he  _ did _ succeed? Because if Lumin was fed, then he lost the bet, and then they would have to leave!

But stronger than all of that was his concern for Lumin’s safety, and being sure that his friend was not going to die. All the times his friend had shied away from eating in front of him this past month, how he’d hurriedly assure Aster that he was fine, there was no need to be worried…

“Here we are~!” 

The three of them halted in front of a large, cavernous opening in a high wall of rock that stretched up high enough to tower over the ocean’s surface. Just inside the opening, Aster could catch glimpses of light reflecting off the numerous shards of gems embedded in the walls of the caves. Once the sun set and no longer shone its light through the entrance above the water, he knew those crystals would probably be his only source of light inside the vast network of tunnels in there. 

There’s a distant, muffled sound from deep inside the caves, and he shivers when he realises that somebody’s humming. 

“How long… When is the deadline?”

“Weeeeeellll we just managed to catch him before he took someone about 3 months ago, so he’s got… let’s see, another week or so left. Why?” Ray snickered. “You want to be his last meal~?”

“No.” Aster pulled his hand out of Floran’s grip and let himself gently sink onto the sand. “I’m going to talk him out of it.” 

He flinches as Ray gave a harsh bark of laughter. “You’ll  _ talk _ to him?! Oh, yeah, of course, why didn’t we think of that! Not like he’s been starved for four months and is desperate for a meal.” 

The siren swam down and shoved his right arm under Aster’s nose. Nestled just above the crook of the siren’s elbow was a deep, blood-crusted bite mark, and he recoiled. “That’s from when we came to check how he’s doing. We popped in to say hello and barely made it out, he’s long gone. But sure, human, he’ll obviously calm down and listen to you if you just talk about your feelings~ ”

The boy drew a very shaky breath as he clenched his fists to stop them from trembling. “He really did that…? I… He must be really delirious…”

“Delirious is too kind of a word.” Floran hummed. There was a flicker of fear in the look he gave the entrance of the cave. “He was worse than that.”

“Welp! It’s a good thing we’re not the ones who have to deal with it!” Ray shoved Aster forwards into the cave’s entrance with a flick of his tail, and the boy yelped as he tried to find his balance. “Good luck, human, you’re going to need it~”

Aster bit back a remark as he righted himself and started to move forwards into the cave. 

He didn’t make it very far before his foot hit something sharp, which crunched under the pressure. He flinched and pushed himself up through the water to get his feet off the sand. He could just make out the shape of hundreds of fishbones littering the ground in a blanket so thick it blocked the sand from sight. He swallowed nervously and brushed the remaining fragments from his foot before continuing, swimming as best he could above the trail of bones, trying to hum his own tune to block out the one he could hear in the distance. Maybe it wasn’t smart to announce his presence to a starved siren, but there wouldn’t be much Aster could do if he never actually reached Lumin.

Outside, Ray smirked as he and Floran started to swim up to the surface. “I give him ten minutes. Five if he manages to avoid getting lost in the tunnels.” 

* * *

_...so hungry, gods, he was starving… Where was all the food? Why was it so dark in here… why did he come here, again? There’s no real food here… just tiny fishes slipping through the cracks in the walls… he can’t reach those… if he ate something bigger he might remember why… he was so hungry… _

The siren paused and turned his head, hearing something new, somewhere in the caves. Was that… humming? Was something else in here with him? But it didn’t sound like another fish. This was familiar… Could it be…

The scent hit him like a tidal wave. 

_ Food. _

He was off, slipping through the tunnels like a ribbon, his own song growing louder as he drew closer and closer. Gods, that smell was intoxicating, he could almost taste it... after so long he was  _ so close _ to finally having a real meal! And it was still alive? All the way down here? What luck!

Almost got it… so close, so close… oh, it’ll taste so good... keep going, it’s so close… just past this corner-

_ There. _

The siren turned past the rock and pounced, latching his claws onto its shoulders as he drove it into the ground and pinned it down. It yelped in pain, struggling to escape his grip. His face stretched into a wide, ecstatic smile as the scent grew so much stronger, and his eyes darted around frantically as he searched for the best point to start digging into his meal. 

Though he paused when his eyes found its own, and he saw that it was speaking. 

_ “Ow! Lumin! _ Stop, you’re hurting me!! Lumin it’s  _ me _ , it’s Aster, it’s your friend! I’m going to help you, don’t eat me, please!” 

...Slowly, the siren’s grip on  its his shoulders relaxed slightly as he registered who he was holding down. It was hard to think properly through the constant loop of  _ ‘foodfoodfoodfoodfoodfoodfoodfood’ _ , but eventually he was able to reign in a little more control. 

“How can you breathe down here?” He demanded. “Humans don’t breathe ocean water. Of course, you’re not the first to try, in order to even catch just a glimpse of me~ But you’ve actually succeeded! That shouldn’t be possible.”

“I - You helped me...” The boy coughed as he still tried to wriggle out of Lumin’s grasp, looking for something in Lumin’s eyes besides the hunger. “You gave me something to eat and it allowed me to breathe saltwater. Don’t you remember…?”

Lumin blinked, and pulled the boy up into a standing position, sniffing the water. “...Well, I see you told no lies, I can smell that seaweed in your system. How lucky!” He flashed a dazzling smile before he started to circle him. “It tends to make the blood taste so much sweeter~”

The boy visibly trembled. “That’s - Lumin, it’s me, it’s Aster, please! You don’t want to eat me, really…”

“Hmmmm, I don’t know~ I am  _ awfully _ hungry, and you don’t seem the type who’s rude enough to deny me from having a meal.” He trailed his hand across the boy’s shoulders. It’s nothing like his soft, gentle loving touches from a few months prior - it’s cold and teasing, cruelly amused by the boy’s obvious lack of confidence. 

“You wouldn’t be strong enough to stop me anyways! But you  _ are _ very cute, little human. And with such a sweet name too~” He started to hum a soft tune as he continued circling, smiling brightly. “Maybe I won’t eat you just yet~” 

The sight of Aster’s shoulders visibly relaxing in relief makes him smirk. They always tasted better when the muscles weren’t so tense. The poor boy looked so lost and confused, nearly on the brink of tears, even. “No, please don’t, Lumin. I know you don’t remember me, but I’m - I’m so sorry you felt you had to starve yourself like this… for me…”

His words slowly quieted as the siren continued to circle him, humming a soft song that slowly wormed its way into the boy’s head. A look of surprise flitted across his face - he was falling  _ very _ quickly, almost as if he’d been swayed by a siren before.  _ Ah well. _ He lifted Aster’s chin to meet his slightly-glazed eyes.  _ At least it made things easier- _

“Yoohoo~! How’d he taste, Lumin, you finished him off yet?”

“Were you kind enough to leave some for us, too?”

Lumin’s whipped around to glare in the direction of the entrance to the cave. Thieves, coming for his food…! They’d steal it, they’d take it from him! But they can’t, this is  _ his _ food,  _ he _ found it-

The siren streaked away through the tunnels again, claws raking and pulling against the rocks to give him more speed. They can’t have it, they can’t take his food! He arrived by the entrance and snarled at the other two hovering just inside, and they flinched. Lumin leaped forwards to attack, but the others were quick to retreat outside, and he only managed to scratch one of their arms. 

“Ack!! He’s  _ still _ hungry?!”

“Does this mean he hasn’t eaten the boy yet?”

He watched them glaring at him from a safer distance up above. The blood slowly rising from one of their arms almost compelled him to give chase. But he couldn’t leave and hunt them down, his food was still in there... 

Lumin hissed a warning at them before he turned tail and darted back inside the caves. He set to put them out of his mind as he drew closer to where he’d left Aster - they were gone, and they wouldn’t dare come back while he was here. He’d have his food all to himself-

...The boy was gone. The place where he’d been, where he’d caught him - it’s empty. Could they have stolen - no, no… He was out there with them, he chased them away. Then, he must be somewhere here! In the caves, probably lost or otherwise blindly trying to find a way out. His panic smoothly morphed into amusement, even excitement. A game of hide-and-seek, with prey that would never find the exit. This would be fun~ 

Lumin moved forwards, swimming through the tunnels and the passageways, humming his tune to see if it would draw him out. But to no avail. Whether by skill or (more likely) sheer dumb luck, Aster was evading him, and he could not find him. The siren started to grow frustrated. He couldn’t lose his meal! He had to find it, he wasn’t finished playing with it just yet. He wanted to taste that blood, tear that sweet flesh into pieces and savour every last bite… he was sick of the hunger…

The scent struck him again, and he abruptly turned towards a different tunnel. Down there. Lumin’s song picked up as he followed the trail through twists and turns, until he found the source. Curled up underneath an outcrop, Aster had his hands over his ears and eyes shut tight as he sought to make himself as small as possible. 

Something about the sight made the siren pause. 

He didn’t dart forwards to seize his target immediately, but instead he stopped and looked over this human. He was shaking. When his eyes cracked open and he caught a glimpse of Lumin in front of him, he started and pushed himself back, hands moving to cover his face. 

“-sorry, I'm sorry Lumin, I’m just scared - I’m scared you’ll eat me, I just wanted to help you but I - I don’t think I can, I didn’t think it through… If you eat me you’ll lose, and if you don’t - if you don’t find something to eat you might die… I’ve only made it worse, I’m so sorry-”

Lumin’s keen eyes spotted something tufts of seaweed wedged in his ears, and he sighed. He moved forwards to rest surprisingly gentle hands upon Aster’s and slowly move them away from his face. He didn’t resist as much as Lumin thought he would, and Aster eventually opened his eyes to look at the siren, who smiled at him. 

“It’s alright, sweetie.”

Though he probably couldn’t properly hear him, Aster shook his head and tried to move away. But Lumin held him fast. 

“Shhhh, it’s ok. You’ll be ok, dear, there’s no need to be upset.”

He moved a hand past one of the boy’s ears, and deftly pulled out the obstruction. With the other resting in his hair, the siren started to sing. He kept his eyes focused on Aster’s, watching the turmoil and the fear inside them slowly dissolve away, though they flickered back every so often. He removed the blockage in his other ear, and the flickers grew less and less, as Aster relaxed and his eyes slowly dulled and glazed over. 

_ Success. _

“There we are~” Lumin hummed, petting the boy’s hair and giggling softly when he leaned into the touch. “All nice and calm and hazy, no more worries in your pretty little head. Just you, and me, and my song~”

“Mm… calm…” Aster tried to reply half-heartedly. It was much easier to just stay quiet and listen to the ethereal voice that gently wrapped around him like a soft warm blanket. He tried to move closer, but found he couldn’t. He was held fast in that warm, beautiful voice - and then it was suddenly bright, and glowing, and alive with colours that flowed smoothly around him. 

Was there a pattern…? Something deep inside him told him no, there wasn’t… that he’d be caught staring forever looking for something that wasn’t there… but… that didn’t sound so bad… especially with that alluring, calming voice talking to him…

“You’re so stressed, so tense, human.” Lumin cooed, still petting his hair as his tail drew him closer. “Just watch the pretty colours for a little while, dear - I’m sure you’ll feel so much better, so nice and safe here with me~”

He felt his heart melt slightly when Aster nodded sluggishly, trying to press closer into Lumin’s hold, and couldn’t stop a softer, far more genuine smile from stretching across his face. 

Perhaps mealtime could wait. 


	3. Chapter 3

“Think he’s eaten the boy yet?”

Ray huffed as he flopped onto his back on the rocks. “No, of course not! He’s still fucking feral!” He held his gashed arm up against the sunlight and winced at the deep cuts. “This is the second time he’s nearly taken my arm off...”

“I wonder if he thought we were going to take his food from him.” Floran hummed, rearranging the lilies he’d placed on the rock, before he started to put them back in his hair. “Or maybe the boy got so lost that they couldn’t find each other. We can’t win the bet if he doesn’t eat the human.”

“We  _ will _ get this area.” The other snapped, glancing behind him at the cave entrance. “If he doesn’t eat the boy we might as well snatch one of those ships for him.”

“Goodness, Ray, I’d never have thought you’d stoop so low as to cheat on a deal~”

He smirked as he sat up once more. “Well, he’ll be too busy coming out of his hunger-frenzy to notice~”

* * *

“Sweetie, you’re doing it all wrong…” He sighed, petting the hair of the boy that had just latched onto his side. “The whole point of hide-and-seek is that you  _ hide _ from me, so that I  _ can’t _ find you, remember?” 

“Mmmmm… don’ remember…” Aster hummed, smiling as his hair was pet. “An I don’ wanna hide from youuuu...” He reached up lazily to touch Lumin’s hair and gasped quietly, stars in his eyes as he papped it gently.  _ “Soft………” _

“Not as soft as you~ You’re so adorable when you’re like this!”

“Mmmm… your voice…. all sweet ‘n nice…”

“Aw, that’s so kind of you to say, cutie~”

“Noooooooo ‘m not cuuuute-”

The siren giggled, spinning in a slow, lazy circle and holding the boy close.  _ How could he be so precious? _ None of his meals had ever been this soft and cute and adorable, they could never be as sweet as this one. Gods, that blood was going to taste so nice…

“Oh but you  _ are _ , sweetie, with such a cute name and a cute face I could just eat you up! No wonder you have trouble hiding from me, you just can’t stay away~”

Aster nodded slowly. “Don’ wanna leave you.” 

“And you never will~ It feels so nice when you’re all hazy and sleepy, just listening to my voice… So warm and safe here, where nobody else can hurt you…”

The spinning was making him slightly dizzy, but that was ok. He could just hug Lumin tighter, press himself closer. Lumin would never let him go. “Mmmm… ‘m all soft inside… head’s all fuzzy...”

“Full of soft, sweet and squishy insides, yes~” 

Lumin eventually stopped spinning to lift Aster’s gaze to meet his own and flashed him a smile. “Would you like to try one last time, little human?” 

“Mmmmm… maybeeeeee… but I don’ wanna leave you-”

“The longer you hide from me, the longer I’ll sing for you when I find you~” The siren hummed softly as he rested a hand on the boy’s cheek. “Just imagine that… if you hide from me for long enough, you’ll get to hear me sing for hours and hours on end~”

The hesitation in his face melted away immediately, and he nodded eagerly.  _ “Yes yes yes yes yes yes please want that-” _

His grin grew sharper as he gently released him and petted his hair. “Then you’d better go find a good hiding spot quickly, cutie~” 

After all, he wouldn’t have long before the loop of  _ ’foodfoodfoodfoodfoodfoodfood’ _ overtook the siren completely once more. 

* * *

Aster moved through the water in a daze, only just aware enough to avoid bumping into the walls. Where would be a good spot to hide? He really didn’t want to hide, though… But the promise of hearing that beautiful, calming voice if he hid for long enough was too enticing to ignore! He’d better find someplace fast, and make sure it was a good one.

The boy spotted a small opening in the wall, a small hidden nook, and he wiggled inside with a smile on his face. He wouldn’t find him easily in here! As he moved to make himself comfortable, a thought slowly rose to the surface of his mind.  _ If Lumin starts singing, you’ll come out of your spot and then he’ll find you. _ Well, that couldn’t happen. He had to hide for a  _ long _ time in order to win! So he pressed his hands over his ears and settled with his back against the wall of rock, watching the shining gems and crystals twinkling with a mysterious light that they seemed to create themselves. They looked so pretty… almost as nice as those colours Lumin had… he couldn’t wait to see those again…

A tiny sliver of a fish managed to worm its way into Aster’s hiding spot, brushing against his nose, and he flinched in surprise. The crystals in the wall behind him caught him on his shoulders, digging in harshly.

_...the claws pierced deep into his shoulders and pinned him down, the bones and the sand were sharp and jagged, and he looked up to see those eyes empty of anything but hunger, razor teeth stretched in a wide grin and ready to dig in- _

The glaze over his eyes and the fog in his mind quickly dissolved, and Aster came to real consciousness with a start. Being inside a tight, nearly enclosed space nearly made him panic - but then he saw the fish, and the crystals in the walls, and he realised where he was… and what must have happened. 

A distant voice carried through the tunnels. “Time’s nearly up, little human! I hope you found a good hiding spot where I can’t find you~” 

His hands started trembling as he realised that if he didn’t get out now, he wouldn’t get out  _ ever. _ Lumin would start looking for him soon. He needed that head start. 

Crawling out of the hole in the wall, he started to move in the opposite direction of the siren’s voice, up through the tunnels, hoping to find one that led to the surface. Aster was a much stronger swimmer now compared to when he first met Lumin, but he still pushed against the walls to give an extra boost when his legs started to tire. 

And then he looked up to see it - a tunnel that was filled with golden light,  _ sunlight _ , that led up and up through the water. That must reach the surface! Aster started to swim along it. He suddenly became aware of humming in the far distance, and it was enough to make him push harder against the pull of gravity, haul himself upwards as fast as he could-

His pants were caught on one of the crystals poking out of the rock, and he nearly yelped - though he covered his mouth before he could. The last thing he needed was to alert Lumin of his whereabouts. A tear showed itself in his pants, cutting right across a pocket…

...out of which fell two small, old stumps of wax. 

He didn’t think twice about how those had gotten there, or why he hadn’t disposed of them yet. The boy grabbed them and shoved them in his ears before he continued his ascent. They clearly weren’t as effective when they were wet with seawater, but it was enough that his own breathing was very muted. 

He didn’t  _ dare _ look down, now. If the siren came close, he would hear it too late, and looking down to check would only slow his progress. He just had to hope against hope that he’d make it to the surface in time. If he was on dry land, Lumin couldn’t catch him. 

At last, he reached the top, and clambered over the edge into a small cave that slowly grew until it opened out upon the ocean, set just behind a series of flat rocks set above the water.  _ Safety. _ Aster pushed forwards, and once his feet hit the sand he started to move faster. The water was growing shallower the closer he came to the cave’s entrance, as he drew nearer to the reef and the rocks, closer to-

A hand grabbed his leg and pulled, and Aster slipped with a cry back into the water. He twisted around to free himself and was met with the face of the siren, mere inches from his own, eyes filled with a manic glee at having finally caught his meal for good. 

“Very clever, sweetie, heading for the surface like that! You had me worried for a good while, searching for you through all the tunnels. But I knew I’d catch you in the end~” Lumin released Aster’s leg and instead pinned him down by the throat, raising his other hand to rest against his cheek as he started to sing, keeping his gaze fixed on the boy’s eyes so that he could watch them glaze over one last time… maybe he’ll eat them first - or save them for last, sweet as they were…

Aster couldn’t be fully affected due to his ears being mostly blocked, but his thoughts were still starting to slow, he couldn’t risk falling under again. He summoned the last of his strength to pull one leg up, and he  _ kicked. _ Right in the face. 

Lumin fell back with a yell, Aster scrambled to his feet, and started to run through the shallow water. The exit was so close, and once he climbed up the rocks Lumin would be at a disadvantage… He came to the edge of the water, his toes nearly slipping as they landed on the seaweed-slicked rocks, and glanced up to see the sun nearly set, distant shapes on the water, and two mermen turning to look at him in surprise.

“You got out?”

He didn’t have time to respond before he was tackled from behind. Aster fell forwards and tumbled across the rocks, gaining scrapes and scratches up and down his limbs before he came to rest on his stomach. Face squished on one side, he could see the other two sirens scrambling back frantically. 

“What the fuck did you bring him up here for!? Kid, you’re going to get us all killed!” 

From the sudden surge of fear upon their faces as their eyes glanced up, and the sounds of movement behind him, Aster could tell that Lumin had seen them, and probably recognised them. Floran stilled and Ray weakly raised a hand in greeting.

“ahhh….. hiiiiiii Luminnn…..” 

There was a low snarl, and Aster could feel the air being knocked out of his lungs as Lumin crawled over him, claws raking against the rocks, to attack the other sirens. Disadvantaged though he was out of the water, he still managed to tear a sizable chunk out of Floran’s tail before the two of them were able to move off the edge of the rocks and into the waves. He then raced back to pin Aster down by the neck once more, grip tightening as he held him fast. The boy quickly realised he was going to run out of air, and he tried for perhaps the last time to dissuade the siren from eating his friend. Searching for something in those eyes that never before saw him as food.

“Lumin…. Lu- please, don’t… you’ll regret it, pl- please...”

“Not gonna work, kid!!” Ray called from the water, which was slowly turning pink around Floran’s tail as the latter struggled to staunch the bleeding. “Nevermind bringing one of those ships over here, you’re already dead meat, we’ll be picking up your scraps within minutes.”

Lumin turned and hissed viciously at them, eyes fierce and feral, Floran’s blood dripping from his mouth, claws starting to tear cuts into the skin of Aster’s neck as he possessively drew the boy closer. No scraps, no bones, no organs, nothing would be left for anyone else. All of it belonged to him.

This was  _ his _ meat.

Aster tried to cling to consciousness, straining to push away the fog of darkness gathering inside his head. His eyes darted around for a weapon, a distraction, something,  _ anything. _ But all he saw was the smooth seaweed on the bloodstained rocks beneath him, and the waves lapping near his head, and the ships further out on the water-

...There were ships. Ships had pirates, pirates that weren’t Aster, and  _ pirates were food- _

“Lumin-!” Aster wheezed, weakly raising a hand to push against the siren’s face while the other struggled to pull the claws off his throat. “Out… On the water, ships… better food… _ lots… _ of food…”

Lumin grabbed Aster’s hand and pinned it down, ready to dig in -  _ where to start where to start what tasted best the eyes the neck the intestines the chest the heart the lungs _ \- before the words registered, and he looked up towards the horizon. He blinked a few times, and soon the shape of the ships on the water slowly came into focus. He curiously sniffed the air.

_ Three ships, three boats full of food, there was one giving off the scent, two, ten, twenty sources of the scent, so much more food, he’d never go hungry again, they smelled so sweet, they would taste so heavenly, twenty meals all in one spot, one wouldn’t be enough, he was starving he needed more food food food fooD FOOD FOOD FOOD FOODFOODFOODFOOD- _

Aster felt the weight on top of him shift as Lumin moved, pulling himself forward and over the edge of the rocks, right into the water. Ray and Floran flinched away, but the siren had eyes only for the ships, and he streaked off through the water. 

The boy rolled over to try and sit up, to watch his friend go. But his arms were weak from the loss of adrenaline and lack of air, and the movement only served to make him dizzy. The darkness finally closed over his mind, and he was out cold. 


	4. Chapter 4

_ so close, so close… look at that food, there’s so many of them, so many meals, so much food… this is so much  _ _ easier, _ _ they’re just following me blindly…  _

He was circling the ships, clawing at the hulls to help him swim faster, faster. Pulling them all along like puppets on strings as he sang his song, as his colours looped endlessly.

_ that’s it, little humans… be good little meals and keep watching, keep listening… _

The ships started to move, all steering to follow the siren wherever he went. But they were no use up there, they needed to come down here, he wanted to rip them apart one by one...

_ make them jump… that’s it, food, come now, food, jump down, come and join me, food, jump down… _

Entranced by the song and completely uncaring for their own safety, the pirates clambered one by one over the edges and down into the water below. Lumin still sang and dragged them further down with his music, drowning them with his colours until every last one had landed in the water. He looked up to see them all above him, tirelessly moving down away from the surface, closer and closer to their doom. 

_ do it take them take the food it’s right there eat all this food you’ve caught all this food eat the food it’s your food EAT IT- _

Lumin grabbed the arm of the nearest one and sunk his teeth in, ignoring the scream as he tore off and devoured the first, real piece of food he’d had in forever. 

It was  _ heavenly. _

He couldn’t stop from there, he didn’t even think of stopping. Nothing survived after the first was devoured, and he quickly moved on to the next. Finally,  _ finally _ he had the chance to eat a meal, and it’d be foolish to be picky now. Every organ was carved out and devoured with vigour, every limb and bone was stripped clean and left to sink to the ocean floor. Every kill flooded the water with another dose of that delicious blood, and the sounds of the pirates screaming as the siren feasted upon each and every one of them was the sweetest song of all. 

* * *

_ scritch. _

“...no, not big enough…”

_ scritch, scritch, scritch. _

“Gods… taking forever, where is he… your tail, Floran, we’ll get you…”

_ scritch, scritch. _

The sounds gently worked their way into his consciousness, and he slowly became more aware of his surroundings. He could hear voices, and another noise… That was… Ocean, the ocean. He could smell the salt and hear the waves… There was also a warm metallic scent, and his ankle was stinging badly...

Eventually, he found he could move his fingers without much pain, and Aster slowly cracked open his eyes. The sun was only just starting to set beneath the horizon, but he could still see the streaks of blood on the mossy stones he lay on. The spray from the small waves hitting the rocks rained down on his face. After gently moving his legs and arms with only small difficulty, he managed to push his face off the ground and sit up.

“Oh, you’re still alive.” He turned to see two sirens, one of them scratching something into the rocks while he looked at the human in surprise. “Didn’t think you’d make it, honestly.” 

Aster coughed, chest contracting in pain from a bruised rib, taking slow, heaving breaths. He carefully stretched out his left leg to look at the claw marks on his ankle, and felt the shallower ones on the sides of his neck. Lumin really had done a number on him. He was lucky to be alive.

“...And Lumin? Where’s… is he back yet?”

“Apparently not.” Floran gestured with a hand towards the ships out on the waves. “Hasn’t returned. Probably sulking somewhere so he doesn't have to face up to what he’s done.”

He glanced away from the ships to see what Ray was doing - scratching shapes into the rocks with his claws. The siren paused when he looked up to see Aster was watching him. 

“I’m dividing up the area.” He explained. “You know, since you lost the bet and all. We move in, we bring the rest of our swell with us, and you two find someplace else to live. 

Aster felt his heart drop like a stone into his stomach. The bet. They’d lost. Lumin had gone near the ships, and from how desperate and ferocious he was he’d certainly have eaten someone by now. The memory of those wild eyes and blood-slicked razor teeth made him shiver, extremely glad he wasn’t on those ships, facing down a hungry siren. But he wouldn’t  _ be _ this hungry if it wasn’t for… 

“...Can’t you all just go somewhere else?!” Aster demanded. “Why… Why do you have to pick on us - on Lumin? What did he ever do to you?”

“That  _ freak _ took a chunk out of my tail, and attacked us more than once.” Floran snapped, glaring at him. “We’d be hard pressed to find a reason  _ not _ to hate him.”

“He only did that because  _ you _ pressured him into that stupid bet!”

“Because we knew he’d lose, duh!” Ray rolled his eyes. “We could have removed him by force if we wanted, but he accepted the terms. There’d be no arguments if he lost under the conditions of a bet~”

The scowl on his face suddenly shifted into an amused smile. “But we really should thank you for helping out! Didn’t have to intervene as much as I thought we would.”

“Intervene - what are you saying?” Aster could feel the tears starting to prick at the corners of his eyes from frustration. “Is that what I heard - you, Ray, before I passed out - when you said you didn’t even need to bring the ships over - you were going to cheat, weren’t you?!”

“But we didn’t have to!” Ray smirked. “You did it for us. And you wouldn’t have been able to prove it if we  _ did _ cheat, anyways~ It’s not like-”

Ray stopped abruptly and turned to look at something out across the water, apprehension suddenly crossing his face as he moved protectively in front of Floran. Aster followed his gaze, and his heart leapt as he saw a shape approaching under the surface. It drew closer and closer, until at last his friend’s head and torso surfaced from under the waves.  With the bloodstains all over and the glare he was giving, he was certainly the spitting image of what horror stories and late-night sea shanties led you to believe sirens looked like. Aster felt compelled to back away, get out of range. Until he realised Lumin was not looking at him, but instead at the other sirens. 

“...You were going to cheat.” 

Ironically, the boy feels a sudden rush of relief at the sound of his friend’s voice. Tight and venomous though it was, he knew that Lumin now remembered how he’d got here, and who’d pushed him into this corner he didn’t know he could back out of. And that meant he would remember Aster.

“Oh, you were listening?” Ray managed to snicker, though his voice betrayed a tremor. “No, we didn’t cheat. Aster was the one who pointed you towards the ships before we could.”

The air took on a chill as the sun disappeared under the waves and Lumin’s scowl deepened. “You still intended to. That means you lose by default.”

“It means  _ nothing _ of the sort.” Floran intervened, pushing Ray aside. “You don’t get to decide the outcome of a bet that  _ you _ lost. You could never have won - only  _ real _ sirens can expect a level of fairness, and you’re nowhere near one. You’re just a pretender, and you always will be-”

He was cut off by a hand slamming his throat against the edge of the rocks. A small cry escaped him as another hand dug sharply into the wound among his scales. Ray moved to intervene, but backed down immediately at a glance from Lumin. 

“I can always make room for another chunk out of that tail, Floran.” He warned, voice dangerously low. “Four months without food does tend to increase your appetite.” 

“Lumin,  _ stop.” _

The sudden warm touch upon his arm made him flinch as the siren’s gaze finally moved to look up at Aster. He squeezed his arm gently and tried his best to smile. “It’s ok, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just go home.” 

...Lumin nodded, and released Floran to move away, not looking at either of them. Aster started to follow, but stopped short and turned to the other two sirens.

“For the record, dickheads, my friend managed to go for nearly  _ four months _ without eating me or any other person,  _ and _ he just stole the entire crew of like, three ships combined. He is  _ way _ stronger than either of you wimps put together, and if you underestimate him or try to steal our home again, you  _ will _ regret it.” 

Neither of them had a reply. Aster gave them one last glare before he stepped off the rocks and into the waves, gently taking hold of Lumin’s hand as the latter pulled him along through the darkening water, following the route home. 

…It was very quiet. Lumin refused to turn his head to look at the boy, or say anything at all about what had just happened. He was so distracted and distant that Aster found he could actually swim at the same pace as the siren for once. But this only served to make the situation more awkward, as he found himself holding back from saying anything, too. Whether from nerves or because he couldn’t find the right words, he couldn’t tell. 

Eventually, they started to descend down towards the entrance to their grotto. It was just as they’d left it, with the bioluminescent lanterns on the ceiling and walls lighting up the place, and Aster felt a warm sense of relief at finally being home again. Lumin let go of his hand and moved into the kitchen, soon returning with his first-aid box. He motioned for Aster to sit down, and started to carefully treat his wounds, though the slight shake in his hands did slow the process. 

“Thank you...” Aster managed to say. “Are you - I mean, do you want help with-”

“I’m fine.” Lumin cut him off shortly. “...’s not that bad. Yours matter more.” He still wouldn’t look Aster in the eyes.

“Don’t give me that. You’ve just - you’ve been starved for four months and I’m betting it really took a toll on you mentally, you look  _ exhausted. _ ”

“ _ Nearly _ four months. I didn’t reach the deadline, remember?”

“And I’m glad you didn’t. You might have died otherwise! That’s why I came to find you, to persuade you to eat-”

“And that’s  _ why _ I left, so that I  _ wouldn’t eat you.” _ His hands aren’t steady enough to keep bandaging Aster’s ankle. He sets them down gently and starts to scratch his wrist. “I had it under control, I could - I could make it. I didn’t want them to… They can’t have this place, Aster, it’s my - it’s our home. I knew they could get rid of us if they wanted and I knew there was nowhere else I wanted us to go… We - I could never live with the other sirens… If I won fair and square then they’d promise… to leave us alone...”

“You don’t have to prove yourself to them.” Aster reached out a hand and squeezed Lumin’s shoulder gently. “If you’d told me this was happening I would have helped. Maybe even persuaded you to back out of the bet - if you know how they treat you, you could have guessed that they would never play fair.”

Lumin made a soft noise and moved his bloodied hand up to Aster’s, gently pulling it off. “...This wasn’t supposed to affect you… it’s me they hate and want to get rid of. I was supposed to settle it so that they wouldn’t come near you-”

“I’m pretty sure you already did. Like I said, you managed to hold off eating me despite being starved, and you just took down three ships in one go. You’re so much stronger than you think you are, Lumin. You’re more of a siren than both of them together.” He placed his bruised hand in Lumin’s palm and held it tight. “But please… don’t hurt yourself for my sake, or to prove yourself to them.” 

...The siren finally raised his head to look the boy in the eyes. His whole composure crumbled when he really saw how much damage he’d done to them both, as he realised just how close he’d come to losing his friend forever.

“...Aster, I’m - I hurt you…  _ so much… _ I nearly - I almost  _ killed _ you… oh Gods, what have I done?? How could I… sweetie, I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry I never wanted this-”

Aster pulled him forwards and wrapped his arms tightly around his friend, uncaring for the blood that would stain his clothes, only concerned about holding the siren, comforting him. Words failed Lumin as he caved, as he curled into Aster’s arms and sobbed heavily, apologising over and over and over again. The boy just pulled him closer and tried to run a hand through the siren’s hair, holding him tight and reassuring him. 

They were alright now, they’d made it out together. They were going to be ok. 


End file.
